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SEIA is the solar energy industry’s go-to source for the latest coverage on solar power, including U.S. and international policy, research and polls, business and financing trends, and more. Our staff strives to support the media covering solar energy issues and guide our members on effective media outreach with clear statements, background materials, news and multimedia resources.

SEIA is committed to informing policymakers, the media, and the American public about the benefits of solar energy for today’s communities, our economy, and our country.

In a move condemned by many solar companies in Arizona, the state’s largest utility, APS, has announced that it will begin installing rooftop solar on customers’ homes. After learning of the news, Ken Johnson, vice president of communications for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), issued the following statement:

SolarCity Corp. (SCTY), the first U.S. company to offer bonds backed by rooftop solar panels, raised $201.5 million in its third debt offering in eight months.

The senior notes were sold at an interest rate of 4.03 percent and were rated BBB+ by Standard & Poor’s, the third-lowest investment grade. The junior notes were sold at an interest rate of 5.45 percent and were rated BB, which is not investment grade. Both tranches mature in July 2022.

It’s estimated installers spend up to $3,000 to acquire each new customer. This high price of customer acquisition is one of the many so called “soft costs” that increase the price of solar and reduce installer margins. Every step along the road to a signed contract has inefficiencies, which is spurring new software solutions to help installers increase their sales volume and close deals faster.

WASHINGTON, D.C. AND BOSTON, MA — GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA®) today release U.S. Solar Market Insight: 2nd Quarter 2013, the definitive analysis of solar power markets in the U.S., with strategic state-specific data for 28 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch released the following statement after learning of the tragic deaths of two First Solar construction supervisors in a plane crash near the Desert Sunlight solar facility in Riverside County, California.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Reacting to a new report issued today by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the White House Council of Economic Advisors, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) says its members are well-positioned to assist efforts to modernize the U.S. electric grid and to make it more resilient in the future when pounded by severe weather.

SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch released the following statement after the report’s release:

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OK, so the city of Boulder wants more renewable energy. Great, then why do they want to buy the local electric distribution from Xcel? Buying the wires and the distribution system does nothing to bring more renewable energy on the grid. That will require additional expense and further delay.

Even as the U.S. churns out more fossil fuels, evidence abounds that alternative energy in general—and solar in particular—is staging a comeback of sorts. And the halo effect has spread to solar stocks.

One of the residential solar industry’s ongoing challenges surrounds standardizing and speeding up the time it takes to get installations approved and in place. One small installer in San Diego is viewing this problem through a different lens..